And the winners are…

Branson got the job done in both the girls championship game and the boys title game, repeating the MCAL title sweep of last year. I covered the boys game but showed up early to watch the girls game and I’m glad I did. Quite simply put, it was the best girls basketball game I’ve seen in Marin to date.
For anyone who missed it, the Bulls survived an incredible scare after leading for most of the second half. Justin-Siena had taken the lead thanks to an overpowering performance by two-time MCAL MVP Vicky Deely. The Bulls trailed by two in regulation and had what appeared to be one last chance to tie the game or take the lead. I believe Lauren Polansky took the shot, which game up short and ended up in Deely’s hands with about eight seconds to play.

Branson had two choices try to foul quickly or try to come up with a steal. It appeared to me at least that they wanted to foul Deely but she passed the ball off to one of Justin’s guards. The ball eventually came loose and ended up in Rachael Bilney’s hands while she was outside the 3-point arc with roughly 3 seconds to play. Without hesitation, Bilney drove the lane between two Justin defenders and scored on a layup at the buzzer to force overtime. Within eight seconds, Branson’s season went from taking a potentially disastrous turn to one of the best finishes imaginable. It’s not often you see a game literally decided or altered at the buzzer.

In overtime, it came down to Bilney vs. Deely and Deely appeared to have the early advantage. Branson trailed by 1 in the game’s final minute. The key moment in overtime came on a sequence where Bilney and Deely literally went one-on-one. Bilney put up a shot which Deely promptly blocked. The two both went for the rebound but Bilney came up with the ball, put up another shot and drew the foul. Bilney made both free throws to give Branson the lead for good. She made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to finish with 23 points.

Deely was amazing in defeat. How’s this for an impressive stat Deely outscored the MC boys by herself on Saturday. She poured in 31 against Branson and put her team on her back.

Bestwick also played a key role in the win, hitting big 3-pointers to close both the second and third quarters. Gina Compagno also had a huge game, scoring 10 points and hitting several huge jump shots in the third and fourth quarters. Without her contributions, Bilney’s heroics might have gone for naught.

The boys game… if you love defense, this game definitely delivered on that end but offensively it was brutal at times. Branson couldn’t buy a 3-pointer in the first half but, almost predictably, Ryan McGuigan buried two quick 3s to open the third.

The most impressive thing I took from the boys game was Branson’s ability to take away MC center Ian Salter (12 points) while allowing little or nothing from MC’s perimeter players. Salter was, at times, surrounded by as many as four defenders but the Bulls were still able to contest open shots.

After the game, Branson coach Jonas Honick revealed that doubling down has been a major part of his coaching philosophy this season. Honick knows that for the Bulls to make it back to the state game, they will have to go through some of the biggest and best post players in the region. All the work on doubling down and playing exceptional help defense wasn’t much as just to stop Salter as it was to prepare the Bulls for their “second season” which begins now.

Both the Branson boys and girls expect to play first-round North Coast Section games on Wednesday tat Drake. College of Marin is playing its last home games of the season that night, so the Bulls’ usual home is unavailable to them.

As for MC, coach Rick Winter said he expected to be a sixth seed in Division IV when the NCS brackets are released on Sunday.